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Documentary
Overview A documentary is a nonfictional film or television program that intends to capture some type of subject matter with the purpose of preserving history or conveying a message or lesson. The film typically includes non-scripted footage, voice-over narration, and/or interviews. Definition and History The word "documentary" was allegedly coined by John Grierson in his review of Robert Flaherty's film Moana ''(1926), published in the ''New York Sun ''on February 8, 1926. In his essay "First Principles of Documentary" (1932-1934), Grierson wrote that the genre is a "clumsy description" and that many have regarded "all films made from natural material as coming within the category." To better define it, he argued that the principles of documentary were that cinema's capacity for observing life can be exploited in a new and vital art form; the original actor and scene are better guides to the interpretation of the modern world; and the materials and stories taken "from the raw can be finer than the acted article." Grierson defined documentary as "creative treatment of actuality," which has received well-known recognition and acceptance. Overtime, others have come to distinguish a documentary from other nonfiction films for its ability to provide a central message along with its presented facts. Some could argue that some of the earliest films in history back in the late 1890s were the gateway to documentaries. These "actualities," though lacking any arguments or points, focused on the idea of being able to capture an actual event, such as the demolition of a wall or the electrocution of an elephant. Propaganda films during wartime had the sole purpose of explicitly persuading the audience of a specific point. In Britain, a group of filmmakers led by Grierson was became known as the Documentary Film Movement as they blended propaganda and education with an aesthetic documentary approach. The cinema verité (French for "cinema of truth), popular in the 1950s, included no narration as it focused solely on the subject. The "Ken Burns" style, something very common in modern films, included narration of written historical documents accompanied by music and images on screen. Types of Documentary Documentary has six distinct modes, which have been identified by American film scholar Bill Nicholas. These "modes" are examines through genres, structures, and aesthetics. Expository This type of documentary has a omniscient narrator who speaks directly to the audience. Expository films typically have a strong point of view and present an argument to persuade the viewer. Images and footage are used to strengthen spoken narrative. Common features are an authoritative voice-over as used in news and TV programs and “voice of God,” which is off-camera narration to lend an authoritative tone to give credibility to the script. These types of films are meant to “addresses the viewer directly with titles or voices that propose a perspective or advance an argument (Nicholas, 2010)." ex. John Berger’s Ways Of Seeing (1974) Observational This mode tries to interact with the environment as little as possible. Observational films often capture the a developmental story of earned human characteristics. Footage is spontaneous and presents a scene as it occurs. With a goal of objectivity, the director acts as an unnoticed audience to the subject. All of this footage is portrayed as objective reality in this mode of documentary. ex television news footage Poetic This type of documentary originates in the 1920's, but possesses modernist characteristics. Common elements include fragmentation, emotionalism, expressiveness and ambiguity. It is told as a narrative. Specifically, the filmmaker "manipulates the 'spatial juxtapositions' of images and creates 'temporal rhythms' in order to convey a subliminal message or feeling.(Nicholas, 2010)" There are elements often associated with this mode, such as series of fragments and metaphorical representation. ex. Robert Flaherty’s Man of Aran (1938) Participatory This mode of documentary relies on credible interviews and source of knowledge about the subject. The dialogue and engagement between the director and the subject stresses situated engagement, negotiated interaction, and "emotion-laden encounter (Nicholas, 2010).” Performative This mode is identified as being subjective. It has elements of the performed acts is meant to be filmed to portray an emotional intensity. They are "recorded to express the director’s personal vision or enhance the narrative (Nicholas, 2010)." This mode relies more heavily on the acting as a way to bring a heightened emotional involvement of the audience to a situational a role. ex. Tongues Untied (1990) Reflexive This style of documentary emphasizes its own construct. Instead of trying to be an absolutely clear and unbiased view of the event that are being portrayed, it acknowledges the effect of film construction on the topic. It is “how we represent the historical world as well as…what gets represented” This mode is a construct or representation of the past (Nicholas, 2010). ex. when one camera films a recording session taken by another camera Examples ''Blackfish This 2013 documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival focuses on the life of Tilikum, the bull orca currently living in captivity in SeaWorld who was responsible for the death of three people. The film uses footage and interviews. The overall main message of the film lies in killer whale captivity. Catfish This is a documentary that was filmed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman that focuses on Nev's relationship with a person online who is not who they say they are. The film is mostly constructed based on observational footage. In Whose Honor? This film was created by Jay Rosenstein. The concept of this film is based on the controversy surrounding the Illini Chief as a mascot. It includes interviews, stock footage and images, and observational footage. Thin Blue Line The documentary, Thin Blue Line, ''directed by Errol Morris, focuses on the events of a shooting of a police officer near Dallas, TX, in 1976. The film is unique in that it includes a considerable amount of staged/scripted reenactments and dramatizations as well as true and unscripted interviews in order to educate and entertain the audience. It also includes clips from other motion pictures when necessary to push it's point further. ''Jodorowsky's Dune Jordorowsky's Dune ''explores the pre-production of the ultimately-cancelled film adaptation of the Frank Herbert Novel, ''Dune. ''The film was directed by Frank Pavich, and focuses on the would-be director of Alejandro Jodorowsky's, and goes into the process of the initial production for the adaptation, and utilizes animation and early concept art for the film to begin to recreate what could have been produced if the film was completed. Resources and Further Reading * Defining Documentary Film - An interesting study by a professor and his classmates as they attempt to define what a documentary is, including a list of narrative strategies, ways of being true, and other points to consider. * Don Frederickson's book review on two works that pertain to the history of documentaries and nonfiction film. * The British Documentary Film Movement - A detailed piece on the history, work, and influence of Grierson's filmmaking team and their efforts to making documentaries more educational. * Top 100 Documentary Movies - Rotten Tomatoes lists the best documentary films based on ratings and reviews with Man on Wire (2008) ranked as #1. * Documentary Heaven - A website where you can watch hundreds of documentaries of various subjects for free. Keywords Film Affordances Actuality The Thin Blue Line Citations Grierson, John. "First Principles of Documentary (1932-1934)." In Nonfiction Film Theory and Criticism, edited by Richard Meran Barsam, 19-30. New York: Dutton, 1976. http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/gustafson/FILM%20161.F08/readings/griersonprinciples.pdf Morris, Peter. 'Re-thinking Grierson: The Ideology of John Grierson'. In T. O'Regan & B. Shoesmith eds.''History on/and/in Film. Perth: History & Film Association of Australia, 1987. 20-30. http://wwwmcc.murdoch.edu.au/ReadingRoom/hfilm/MORRIS.html "What is a Documentary Film?" WiseGEEK. Accessed May 11, 2015. http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-a-documentary-film.htm Swann, Paul. ''The British Documentary Film Movement, 1926-1946. ''New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989. http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam031/88025693.pdf Natusch, B., & Hawkins, B. (2014). Mapping Nichols’ Modes in Documentary Film: Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry and Helvetica. Retrieved December 2, 2015, from http://iafor.org/archives/journals/media/media-journal-vol1-issue2-contents/Nichols-theory.pdf Category:Keyword Category:Keywords Category:Film Category:Documentary